Stock-cutting machine



E. E. WINKLEY. STOCK CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.22,1917.

1,352,492, PatentedSept. 14,1920.

7 $HEETSSHEET 1- E. E. WINKLEY.

STOCK CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICAT10N FILED 1AN.22. 1917.

1,352,492, Patented Sept. 14, 1920-.

7 SHEETS-SMET 2.

fivenvgor Patented Sept. 14, 1920.

ISHEETS-SHEET 4.

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. QNQNN E. E. WINKLEY. STOCK CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-2211917.

Patented Sept. 14, 1920.

ZSHEETS-SHEET 5.

E. E. WINKLEY.

STOCK CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.22.19|7.

Patented Sept. 14,1920.

7 SHEETSSHEET T.

UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFlCEr- Enlist nus 1 TwmKLriY, ortrim, AssAeH UsErrrs,FAssIGNoR, iir iimsnunssieu- 51,352,492, 1 A ppli'cation filed January 22 1917. Serial 1No"."143',738.'

, ENrsmo UNITED srron MACHINERY oonronnriomor PA'rEnso EwJJERsE A conroim'rron or'nnwfannsny. I

y's'rock our'rme 'MAoHmE'. v

Toallowhom it'magfcojncem."

{gum in the j county Be it known that I, =ERASTUS acitizen of theUnited'States,res1d1nglat of Essex and StateTof tssachusetts, have invented lcertain'. new

' and useful "Improvementsin Stock-Cutting rial froin the 1supply and feeding them Machines and I do hereby declare. the wfOllowing to bee full, clear, and exact de'scription "of the invention, such others skilled in theart-to which it appertains tomake and use the same. ::i

. This" invention relates to machines .1 in which pieces or blanks of materiah'particularly "sheet-material, are cut or otherwise and delivered in stacked relation, ready for transferal to other ina- "chines.

operated upon,

form, manufacture of shoe-heels,

as will enable The invention, thoughnot limited to'such use, is particularly applicable to machines "in which articles of tapering such as the wedge-lifts used in the oprese'nt, invention,

are cut from "strips of suitable sheetanaterial, and are I handling,

machines:

positions-2. 0., with their ner extremities "alternating; the present invention isto produce a ma- 1 chine by may be brought into stacked relation with Jline 7'o-7winoFig. 2. h Fig; 8 is a detail-view, a

then arranged iii-stacks for the'sake of cornpactness' 'in storagefor of convenience-in* or in thesubsequent feedingof r;

the articles by the feed-mechanisms of other "Articles whiclr are; wedge-shaped ta- I pering-in, form will notstack properlyiwhen .1 "lying loosely oneupon another and'allin similar positions with respect to their thicker and "thinner extremities.

ifhrranged in alternate r thicker and thina One object/ of r.

They may be stacked, however,

which articles of tapering form the"ad]acentarticles in opposite positions, for the purposes 4 To the foregoing end the invention resides V 'i ing and supporting the aforesa d ina machine in which the articles in question are subjectedy-to such relative movenecessary to bring lt'hern Iinto *the machine as adaptedto operate upon L wedge-shaped strips. }Fig.;1 0:is similar to a ments as are "upon'or in a suitable receptacle orsupport.

Certain features ofthe invention are apa plicable 'particularly to machines, foricutting or otherwise operating upon successive -1nechanism shownvparticularly in1Fig. 9.;

portions vof tripsor sheets; of material, in

which ineans' are provided for holdin'gia supply of such pieces of material and for supplying the pieces suc cessively,and-'feedt;

orwedge-like wedgeshape'd, strips.

showing, in; elevation, looking rammed at. 14,1920.

1 each piece intermittently, to the operative instrumentalities ,of the machine; An-

other object ofthe invention, accordingly, is to provide a machine of thefkind in question,;w'ith simple ,and reliable mechanism,

for withdrawing the sheets or strips of matein e mi y fto 1 Op r t ng instrumentaliti'es. r .1

Which will be set forth in the following description} anddefined in-the appended claims] v 1 x -herxobjects features ofconstruction by which they are attained, will beset; forth hereinafter, in "connection with the description ofthe illustrated embodiment of'the invention,

of the invention, the

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1.

isa plan-jview of machine embodying the to feed a stack of strips of uniform thickand adaptedgparticularly chine, with a I part ofithe drive-shaft for thev strip-feeding mechanism broken away and the'clutch; for said shaft disconnected. Fig. issimilartoafportion of'FigJQ, but on a larger scale, and with j parts broken away and other-parts Sectionedffonthe sake of clear-w.

ness. v1.Fig.;4:;is similar to a-portion'of Fig. but with the 1 parts in a I differentv position.

5'oisja1partialplmi-view, in section approximatelyongthe line v5- 5 in Fig. A.

fromtheg'right-hand end, in Fig; 2 and illustrating the machine 'operatingupon '.Fig'. 'Z is a partial verticallsection, approximately on the from left to rightjin Fig. 3,,a part of the means for guidstrip of; stock. Fig.

9 isalopartial vertical section, approximately .longthe line' 9r9 inFig. 2 and illustrating;

.' different positio'n and Fig, 11 QlS a frag- Fig; ":6; is. a partial end-elevation, looking.

mentaryFplan-yiew Ora. portion of theay,

The invention is illustrated. as'embodied zine (Figs. 1 and 3).

into short pieces suitable for use as heellifts. It is provided with a magazine 14 (Figs. 1 and 2) in which a quantity of strips of material are held in a stack. From this magazine the strips are fed automatically to a cutting-bed 16, and a knife 18, cooperating with the bed, acts intermittently to cut pieces from the strips so fed. The cut pieces are then transferred from the out ting-bed automatically to a receiver 20, in which they are arranged and held in stacked relation, and from which they may be removed, still in such relation, for the purpose of introducing them conveniently into the feed-magazine of some other machine.

The knife 18 is fixed to a head 22 (Figs. 2 and 7) at the lower end of a plunger 24 which slides vertically in a slide-guide 26 on the frame of the machine. The plunger is connected, by a pitman 28, with the cranked end of a power-shaft 30 which is journaled horizontally on the frame of the machine. This shaft is provided with fast and loose pulleys 32 and 34, by which it may be belted to a suitable source of power, and the power-shaft is rotated constantly during the operation of the machine.

The cutting-bed 16 is in the form of a strip of soft metal or other material which will not injure the edge of the knife, and it is supported in a recess in a horizontal cutting-table 36 fixed on the frame of the machine.

As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 strips 40 of material of uniform thickness are piled directly one upon the other in the magazine 14, and the bottom of the stack rests upon a plate 42 forming thebottom of the maga- The magazine has side walls 44 and 45 which embrace the stack laterally, and its inner end is closed by a vertical end-wall 46, but the lower end of the wall 46 is located sufiiciently above the level of the bottom 42 to permit one strip at a timeto be ejected longitudinal-1y from the bottom of the stack in the direction of the cutting-table.

The material is fed by the action of a feed dog 48, (Figs. 3, 4 and 5) which moves beneath the magazine and is provided with two sharp points which are adapted to enter the lower surface of the lowermost strip, and the bottom 42 of the magazine is provided, near its rear end, with a slot through which the feed-dog may engage the strip within the magazine. The feed-dog acts not only to eject the strip from the magazine, but also to advance the end of the strip across the cutting-bed and bring it into contact with a gage 50 which is located beyond the bed at a distance equal to the required length of the pieces to be cut.

The feed-dog is pivoted, at 52, on the end 'of an arm 54 which projects integrally from a sleeve 56. A springpressed plunger 58,

engaging a lug upon the feed-dog, tends to swing the dog upwardly so as to maintain its points in engagement with the material.

The sleeve 56 slides on a horizontal guiderod 60, which is fixed, at its ends, in brackets 62 and'64 on the frame which supports the magazine. The sleeve and the feed-dog are actuated by a lever 66 (Figs. 2,3 and '4) which is mounted, at its lower end, on a pivot-rod 68 fixed in the frame of the machine. The lever is pivoted, at its upper end, to a slideblock 70 which is embraced by lugs depending from the sleeve 56. The lever 66 is actuated through a bell-crank lever 72 which is pivoted alongside the lever 66 on the rod 68. One of the arms of the bellcrank lever is connected, by a rod 74, with a second bell-crank lever 76, and the lever 76 is connected, by a rod 78, with a crank-pin 80 on the power-shaft 30. By this arrangement the lever 72 is oscillated constantly during the operation of the machine.

A yielding connection is provided between the lever 7 2 and 66. For this purpose the former lever is provided with a pin 82, which cooperates with a recess in the end of a hook-shaped member 84 pivoted to the lever 66. A spring-pressed plunger 86 normally acts to maintain the hook 84 in operative engagement with the pin, as shown in Fig. 2. Accordingly, movement of the pin 82 in one direction is transmitted positively to the lever 66. In the opposite direction of movement, however, that in which the feed-dog acts to feed the strip of material, when the movement of the dog and of the lever 66 is arrested by engagement of the end of the strip with the gage 50, the pin 82 rides out of the recess in the member 84, owing to the inclination of the left-hand surface of this recess and the yielding action of the plunger 86, and the remainder of the movement of the lever 72 in the direction of feed is idle. Upon thereturn movement of the lever 72, the pin 82 again slips into the recess in the member 84, so that the lever 66 and the feed-dog are always brought positively to a fully retracted position. To prevent the parts from overrunning in their return movement and again disengaging the hook from the pin, a

buffer-spring 88 is coiled around the rod 60 in position to engage and arrest the sleeve 56 at the end of its return movement.

The range of operation of the feed-dog upon a strip of material during the intermittent advancement of the strip, after each piece hasbeen cut from it, is comparatively small. WVhen a strip has been exhausted, however, and it is necessary to supply a new strip from the magazine, a longer movement must be imparted to the strip, and accordingly the mechanism by which the dog is actuated is so constructed as to impart to the dog a movement of this greater range,

' and thefeed-dog is retracted, after each vfeedlng-operation,

magazine. It 1s desirable, however, that the feed-dog shall engage only the lower face of the strip wlnchis being fed. Ac-

to a; point beneath the sur cordingly, means are provided for tripping the dog and holding it out of operative position during the first part of its advancing movement, except when it is necessary to withdraw a fresh strip from the magazine, so that. when a strip has been fed until nearly. exhausted the dog may not rise into operative position until it has advanced be- *yond the rear end of the strip. For this purpose a trip-bar90 is employed, this bar being located alongside the path of movement of the feed-dog,'and having normally theposition shown in Fig. 4c, endo'f the bar is incl-med, and the dog is The inner provided with a laterally projecting lug 92.

of the dog it is held down in inoperative thetrip-bar until the later part Fgages the trip-bar-andthe dog becomes op *erative. The dog is thus prevented from lrismg into operative position until 11115138- neath the end 01" the strip, even when the strip is nearly exhausted L When a strip hausted, the trip-bar is thrown out of'operative position, and this function iscontrolled automatically by means of afeeler 9 1, whichis arranged to engage the lower 7 surface of the strip'after each feed-movethe trip-bar. p

ment. The feeler is located at a distance from'the cutting-bed 16 equal to the distance'from the latter to the stop 50, and'the feeler engages the lower surface of the strip. Accordingly, when the strip has been I h '1 fed sofar that the remaining portion is not i M L cut therefrom, theen'dof the strip will have fa length'sufiicientto' permit a pieceto be moved beyond the feeler 94, and the latter,

/ instead of engagingand being arrested by the strip,'will rise and throw into operation the mechanism forcontrolling the action of Thefeeler '94 is 'pformed at the'end of ia lever'96 which is connected at its outerend, ".by a pivot '98, with a slide 100 movable horizontally in a bearingon the frame-bracket "64." The gage 'is supportedattheinner ofr" arod 102, which is connected,-by a =pivot :l04c, with asecondslide 106 movable in a bearing-member 108 on the frame of themachine. In order to adjust the machineto produce pieces ofdifierent" lengths,

the gage must be adjusted to different dispurpose the" slide 106 ,is p'ivotallyconnected justed automatically,

92 disenr I "the risingmovementiof the arm 114 has become entirely ex- -into j engagement with an arm 128;;

latter arm is fixed tothe outerfendofthe trip-bar'90, and these parts are 'tion' by a tension-spring 132, connected with .-thearm-128'. -1

; e The engagementofthe feeler .94 with the which it maybe movedin its bearingjthis -hand-lever being fixed in adjusted position 'bv a bolt and a segmentally-slotted plate Since the between the cutting-bed andthe gage, means are provided by which the feeler mayjbe adcoincidently with the adjustment of the gage. Forthis purpose; "the slides 100and 106 are provided with rack-teeth,

which inesh with "a pinionzllO journaled on the bearing-member108, and

owing to this arrangement theslides are moved always in oppositedirections and" 1 through equal distances by the action of the =hand-lever 112. 9

The mechanism for actuating the feeler 19 1 and thetrip bar 90 comprises four lever- "a-rm's 1141, 116, 118'and 120,;which allprojects integrally from a hub 121 arrangedto turn loosely on a horizontal .rod 122tixed in the J frame of the machine.

The arm lle is connected, by a link 1%, with the feelerdever 96,

and a tension-spring126,. connected with the; arm' 11 1, tends tosswing this arm andthe feeler-lever upwardly, from the position "shown in Fig. 8 to that shown in" Fig; 4.

This IHOVGIHQDtiiS arrested unless the strip has-passed beyond thefeelen n which-case the feeler is'permitted to rise freely, and v I turns the hub 121' and thus swingsrthe arm 1-16 This arm 116, the trip-bar is swung'downwai'dly, anditsinnerend is brought below the path;

is of movement of the lug 92. When the arm 116 is disengaged by thearm-l28, the tripbar is raised to and held in its'normal 'posi strip of material is intermittent. The arm 118 is arranged to coiiperatewith adetent "1 3 1, whichis pivoted upon a stationary rod 136, and this detent is integral with anarm; 138 which coeperates with a stud 139atthe Y upperend of the lever v72. WVhen' the parts are inthe position-of Fig. 3, thedetentis held engagement with the arm 1118 by a spring 1 10, and in this-manner thearm 11 1i and the feeler are held in depressed position; "Upon each feed-movement of the dog,

however, the stud139 is brought into engagement with the downwardly curved left hand "endofthe' arm 188, so thatthis arm is raised; thus disengaging the detent 134 from the arm h I ;1;1S,as showninFig. 1. This occurs'justbefore tances from the cutting-bed, and for this the end of the feed-move1nent,'and the feeler distance of the feeler from the; cutting-bed must always be the same as that which is being fed to produce another piece of full length. Upon the succeeding return movement of the lever 72, the stud 139 engages the arm 120, and thus rocks the arm 118 upwardly again, so that the detent 134 again can be drawn into cooperative engagement with it by the action of the spring 140. Whenever the trip-bar 90 has been swung downwardly, by the action of the feelercontrolled mechanism as above described, the lug 92 upon the feed-dog passes over the inner end of the trip-bar during the retracting movement of the feed-dog, so that upon the next advancing movement of the dog, it is free to engage the lower surface of the lowermost strip in the magazine. The dog thus acts throughout its full range of move ment, until the strip has been moved from the magazine into engagement with the gage 50. Upon the next engagement of the arm 120 by the stud 139, however, the parts are restored to normal position, with the tripbar 90 raised into position to cooperate with the lug 92.

The machine hereinbefore described is adapted to operate upon strips of material which are of uniform thickness, and where such strips are employed, the feed-mechanism which has been described is suflicient for all purposes. A feature of the invention resides, however, as has been before stated, in the adaptation of the machine to produce and stack heel-lifts or other articles of a tapering or wedge-like form, and when the machine is so employed the strips 40 have a tapering form in cross-section, as shown in Figs. 6, 7, 9 and 10. In this case special means are required for feeding the strips, owin to the fact that such strips cannot be loosely stacked one upon another in the same way as in the case of strips of uniform thickness.

The particular means employed to adapt the illustrated machine for feeding wedgeshaped strips do not constitute a part of the present invention, except in so far as they .are novel in their details of construction and in their cooperation with other parts of the machine, as they are substantially the same as those disclosed in an application for Letters Patent of the United States by Fred V. Hart, filed May 22, 1916, Serial No. 99,259, (Renewal Ser. N 0. 202,648) to which application reference is herein made with the permission of the applicant. The sidewalls 44 and 45 of the magazine are adjusted at a distance from each other which is slightly less than the width of the strips to be stacked, as shown in Fig. 9, and the strips therefore lie with their thicker edges engaged and supported by each other, while their thinner edges are supported independently and spaced apart by engagement with the wall 44. The thicker edge of the lowermost strip rests upon the bottomplate 42.

In order to bring the lowermost strip into a substantially horizontal position, so that it may be ejected longitudinally beneath the end-wall 46, a slight transverse movement is imparted to the strip, the lower edge of the side-wall 45 being located sufficiently above the bottom-plate 42 to permit this movement. The transverse movement is produced by two dogs 142, having sharpened ends adapted to enter the lower surface of the strip. The dogs, as shown in Figs. 9, 10 and 11, are pivotally mounted in slides 144, which move transversely in guideways 146 beneath the bottom-plate 42, and each dog is pressed upwardly by a spring 148 mounted in the corresponding slide.

In order to actuate the slides, they are provided with rackteeth which mesh with pinions 150 fixed on a shaft 152 which extends horizontally alongside the magazine. This shaft has an oscillating motion which is imparted to it by mechanism shown particularly in Figs. 1 and 7. An arm 156, pivoted loosely on the shaft 152, is connected thereto by means of a clutch 154 of ordinary form, and the arm is connected, by a rod 158, to a crank-pin 160 fixed to a gear 162. This gear is mounted on a shaft 164 which turns in a bearing on the frame of the machine. The gear is driven constantly by a pinion 166 on the power-shaft 30. The arm 156 is accordingly oscillated, and this results in constant reciprocations of the slides 144.

Except when it is necessary to discharge a fresh strip 40 from the magazine, it is not desirable for the dogs 142 to act, and since the reciprocations of the slides 144 occur at each operation of the cutting-mechanism, means are provided for holding the do s out of operative position except when their operation is required. F or this purpose a trip-finger 168 is associated with each dog (Figs. 9, 10 and 11) the trip-finger being arranged to cooperate with a pin 170 which is fixed in the dog and projects laterally through a slot in the side-wall of the slide 144. The trip-finger is provided with a stud 172, by which it is pivoted in a lug on the guideway 146, and a spring 174 normally holds the trip-finger in the raised position shown in Fig. 10, with the upwardlybent inner end of the finger pressed against the bottom-plate 42. The portion of the tripfinger which cooperates with the pin 170 is a laterally-extended portion 176, which is somewhat shorter than the path of movement of the pin 170. During the retreating movement of the feed-dog, the pin first engages the end of the trip-finger and then rides beneath the part 176, the dog being thus depressed out of engagement with the strip of material at the bottom of the magazine. Near the end of the retracting movement of the dog, however, the pin 186 isprovided also with an arm 188 (Figs. 4

thelever 190, normallyretains the-lever inmoves beyond the end'of the part 176, so

that it isfree to rise,in so far-as the finger. 168 is concerned; Such -ris1ng movement is normally prevented, however, by a detentlinger 178 which is located onthei opposite side ot-eachslide 144,-in a position to cooperate with the other end of thepin 170. This detent-fin'gerisfixed in'a short rockshaft-180,-which also turns in a lug on the guideway 1'46.

The detent-finger 178 normally held depressed, in -position to prevent the pin-170 from rising above the part 176 of the trip finger. -For this purposeeach rock-shaft 180 has a depending-arm-1 82,-'which cooper- "ates with a corresponding arm 184. The

arms 184 projectfrom a rock-shaft 186, which extends longitudinally below the magazine, being journaled the'frame of the machine. The rock-shaft 3 and 9) which rests upon a lever 190. This lever is mounted on pivot 192 in a bracket v 193 which depends from therear guideway 146. A spring 194, attached to a pin 195; on

a'position in whichits upper-arm lies beneath and su'pportsthe arm 188, thus in turn causing the rock-shaft186 and the arms 184 I to maintain the arms 182 in their outer posi -tion, whereby the'detent fingers 178 are held depressed." Vlienever the mechanism is op erated 'to discharge-a fresh strip from 'the magazine,-the trip-bar 90 is swung downwardly,'asbetore described and as shown in- J 'Fig. When this occurs, the arm 128, by

whichthe trip-lever is actuated, engages the pin 195 on the-lever'190, and rocks thelever' asshown in Fig. 3, thus disengaging it from the arm 188, which thereupon falls, and the trip-fingers 178 are thus released and peri past the =cutting-instrumentalities, beneath which projects.

mitted to swing upwadly. They are moved in'this direction by springs'200 attached to each of the arms 1 82. 1 When this occurs the pins 170 are released at the end of the-re-- -traeting movement of the slides 144, andthe feed dogs 142 swing upwardly in position to engage the lowermost strip in the magazine upon thenextadvancing movement of the end to the lever 190 i and at theothersend to a rod 1. 98 fixed in the -bottom-plate of :the ma azine. 1 i

he st 1p is-fedfrom thev magazine, and

a-plate 202 (Figs; 3, 4 and 8) frointherear end of the magazine. To sup.-

port 'the strip when its "remaining portion hasbecome so short that it has advanced bein bearings on support of the plates 204 and206;

yond the bottom-plate of the magazine, two

members in the form of plates 204 and ,206

are employed, these plates having rabbeted a,

inner edges forming guideways 1for thelateral edgesof the strip. The plates are supported onlbell-crank levers 208, which are: mounted, by pivots'210 upon the end of the magazine.

after a piece has been severed by the knife, is

insuflicient in length to produce another;

vWhenever the striphas been so far i haustedthat the, portion which ,remains,-;

piece ofthe required length, this factisde tected by the feeler 94 as-before described,

and the mechanism is thrown into operation to supply a fresh strip. Prior to the feeding of such fresh strip, it is desirable to per;

mit the escape, fromthe lineof feed,.ot the waste-piece at the end of the preceding strip. This is accomplished by moving thecplate's 204 and 206 awaygfrom each other, upon each downward movement of the cutter head, so that the remaining material is momentarily. deprived of support by; these plates. 'Duringthe normal operation of the machine the material at this time is support,'

ed by the engagement of the feeler 94 with its lower surface, but when the end the strip has moved beyond the feeler the movement of theplates 204 and 206, just described, permits the waste-piece, which is; {up

entirely unsupported, to fall from the line of feed and thus be discharged. T

The movement of the plates 204 and 206; 'ust described is caused by the movement of the cutter-head 22.- For this purpose the bell-crank levers 208 are provided with arms 216 \vhichare, located in the path; of move ment'of a block 218 Iadjustably secured to the front of the cutter-head. "Upon the de-a pression of the head,the arms ,216are de-j: ,1

pressed, and the plates swing outwardly; Upon thenriseof the cutter-head the bellcrank levers are swung backto anormal p o'-' sition by a spring 212 which connects them,;;

their inward movement being arrested by stops 214 against which they normally rest, In case the knife fails, through any fault. in its adjustment,;to completely sever the,

waste-piece from the last piece cut from the strip, the waste-piece might fail to fall from,

the cutting-bed as ,just described, To in-j sure against such failure,the cutter-head 22 is provided with'a spring-pressed plungeri; 220, which is mounted upon it in position to e descend through an opening in the plate 202 and press the waste-piece downwardlyf at] the moment when it.is ,deprived of the,

The means for transferr'ingthe cut pieces,

from the cutting-bed to'the receiving table."

20 comprise two. carriers 222 andq224,

formed principally oi sheet-metal bent into a stirrup-like shape.

tomplate of each carrier is;integra l with.

.. The horizontal bot:

spectively, with stems 228 and 230, which turn in bearings at the end of two integral arms 232 extending in opposite directions from a vertical shaft 234. The shaft turns in a sleeve 236 on the end of a bracket 238 fixed on the frame of the machine.

Each piece cut by the machine is introduced. horizontally into one of the carriers, so as to lie upon the bottom thereof as shown in Fig. 7 in the case of the carrier 222. This movement of the piece'is produced by a dog 240 which is pivoted on a rod 242 projecting horizontally from the The lever is lower end of a lever 244. mounted, at its upper end, on a pivot 246 on the frame of the machine, so that by the swinging movement of the lever, the rod 242 and the dog 240 are moved transversely above the cutting-table. A spring 248, coiled upon said rod and connected with the dog, acts to swing the dog downwardly into close engagement with the surface of the table, so that the dog may engage and push against the edge of a severed piece.

Movement is imparted to the dog 240 by connections with the power-shaft 30. The lever 244 is connected, by a link 250, with a lever 252 which is mounted on a rockshaft 254 journaled in a bearing on the frame of the machine. An mm 256 is mounted loosely upon the rock-shaft, alongside the lever 252, and lugs 264 and 266 on the lever and the arm are connected by a guide-rod 268 and a spring 270, in such a manner as to retain the arm 256 normally pressed against the upper arm of the lever 252, (Figs. 6 and 7.) A'cam-roller 258, journaled at the upper end of the arm 256, engages a cam 260 fixed on the shaft 164. This cam rotates constantly, and oscillates the lever in timed relation to the movements of the cutter-head. The advancing movement of the dog is produced through the agency of the spring 270, so that if any unusual resistance is encountered by the dog, owing to jamming of the piece of material against which it acts, the spring will yield and prevent breakage of the mechanism.

In order to insure proper engagement of the end of the strip of material with the gage 50 at each feedmovement, a guideplate 272 is employed, this plate occupying the position shown in Fig. 4 when the move ment occurs. The guide-plate is mounted, for convenience, upon the dog 240, so that it is supported in proper position during the feed-movement, while it does not interfere with the movements of the dog.

After a piece is introduced by the dog to one of the carriers 222 and 224, the shaft 234 is given a half-rotation, so as to bring the carrier so loaded to a position adjacent the receiver 20, and replace it with the empty carrier. For this purpose a pinion 274 is fixed on the upper end of the shaft 234, and this pinion meshes with a rack 276 which slides in a bearing on the bracket 238. A. lug on the rack is pivoted to one end of a link 278, of which the other end is pivoted to one arm of a bell-crank lever 280 which is pivoted on the frame of the machine. The other arm of the lever carries a roller 282 which engages a cam 284 on one end of a shaft 286. The shaft is journaled on theframe of the machine and is provided, at the rear end, with a gear 288 which meshes with the pinion 166 on the power-shaft. The cam 284 is thus constantly rotated, and it is formed to impart to the shaft 234 a half-rotation after each operation of the dog 240, these half-rota tions being alternately in opposite directions. The rack 276 is moved positively in one direction by the cam-mechanism, while its movement in the opposite direction is produced by a spring 289 attached to the lever 280.

In order to maintain the piece of material securely in the carrier during the movement just described, each carrier is provided with two clamp-plates 290 which swing about pivots 292 at the top of the carrier. These plates grasp the piece by its lateral edges. (Figs. 8 and 7.) The plates are swung toward each other, and held in engagement with the piece, by means of springs 294 coiled around the pivots. The clamp-plates also act to center the pieces within the carriers being connected by horizontally-projecting arms 296, which are pivoted together at their inner ends so as to secure equal opposite movements of the clamp-plates.

When a piece of material is to be introduced to or removed from the carrier it is necessary to swing the clamp-plates out of operative position. For that purpose a plunger 298 is arranged to slide through a central bore in each of the stems 228 and 230, and the lower end of the plunger is pivoted to the inner ends of the arms 296. The plungers cooperate, at their upper ends, with downwardly convex cam-surfaces at the ends of two arms 300 projecting oppositely from the bearing-sleeve 236. These camsurfaces are so located as to hold the plungers in depressed position in the two opposite positions ofrest of the carriers,

The stem 228 is fixed in the member 232, so that the half-rotation of the shaft 234 causes a half-rotation of the carrier 222 and of the piece of material transferred thereby. For reasons which have been pointed out, however, it is desirable that only alternate pieces of material be so turned, and means are therefore provided for preventing rotation of the carrier 224 during its movement of revolution with the shaft 234. For this idler-gear meshes,

relative to the is making a half-rotation in the opposite dil the cut pleces, just as inthecase of the the member 232, but it is provided with a pinion 302 which meshes with an idler-gear The the member 232. in turn, with a pinion 306 fixed at the lower end of the bearingsleeve 236; The pinions302 and 306 are of the same diameter, and accordingly they act to impart a half-rotation to the stem230, member 232, while the latter 304' journaled on rection.

The receiver 20 comprises two members 308 (Fig.1), in the form of angle-irons comprising horizontal and vertical webs, which extend horizontally so that the pieces of material may be stacked thereon in horizontal extension. In order to retain the pieces so stacked, two resilient detents 310.

are mounted at the bottom of the receiver,

these detents having beveled ends over which the lower edges of the piece may ride, terminating edges of the pleces are retained by two de- ;.cally' according to the size of the pieces operated upon.

The pieces of material are removed from the carriers, and added to the stack within the receiver, by 'means of three lifter-arms 314;. These arms are fixed on a rock-shaft 316 which is journaled at the inner end of the receiver. The shaft is oscillated, at proper times in the operation of the machine,by cam-mechanism. For this purpose an arm 318, fixed on the rock-shaft, is con-Y nected, by a link 320, with an arm 322 fixed on a roclcshaft 324. The roclrshaft 324 is journaled horizontally on the frame of the niachine and is provided with a second .;arm 326 which is connected, by a rod 328, with an arm 330. The arm 330 is fixed on a rock-shaft 332 which carries a second arm 334:. A roller 336 mounted on the arm 33 i" engages a cam 338' on the power-shaft 30.

During the transferring movement of the carriers, the arms 314 lie in depressed position,'but when the carriers come torest the arms are swung upwardly by he mechanism just. described, and they passthrough slots (Fig. 1) so as tion, thus swinging the piece. into engage ment with the'end of the stack and introduci11g it between the detents 310 and 312.

The machine has been described in part as particularly adapted to operate upon wedgeshaped strips of sheet-material, such as are employed in the manufacture of wedge- Itwill operate with equal success, however, upon strips of uniform in shoulders against which these edges may be retained. The upper be facedin the same direction in the stack.-

wedge-shaped material, but the function of these carriers, in'so far as 'the rotationof" alternate'piecesis concerned, willybe of no particular utility, although not interfering in any waywith the operation ofthe machine. i 1

"It will be apparent that through the operation of the meansfor imparting half-ros51: tations to the carrier 222 and preventing rotation of the carrier 224, the piecescut from a wedge-shaped strip will be stacked upon 1 the 'receiverwith their thicker and thinner edges alternating as shown in Figs. 6 and7. It will also be apparent that analogous faces of the pieces-will all be *presented inthe same direction; that is, in the case of leather lifts,*thegrain-sides of the pieces willall The pieces so stacked may then be removed from the receiver, still in their stackedre lation, and conveniently introduced into the maga'zine of the feed-mechanism of any machine adapted to operate automatically'up'on such pieces. In this way-thelabor of stackf ing the pieces for such feed-mechanism is entirely avoided, it being'performedauto matica'lly by the present machine.- In this asp'ect'the invention is not limitedto em' bodimentin a machine for cutting'the pieces I from strips, but the'mechanis'm for stacking thewedgeshaped pieces in alternate positions may be used in connection with various i other mechanisms for handling oroperating uponsuch wedge-shaped or tapering pieces of material. I f I The invention is not, in general, limited to the embodiment thereof hereinbeforede scribedand illustrated in the accompanyingiis drawings, but it may be embodied in various 1 other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having now described the invention and the preferred form of practising it, it is .120 definitely stated in its true scope in the following claims. I

\Vhat is claimed as new,is:--

1; A machine having, in combination, means for delivering tapering articles successively in similar positions, andmeans forstacking the articles so delivered with'their thicker and thinner extremities alternating and their analogous faces directed the same way.

2. A machine having, in combination, a receiver, and means for stacking tapering articles automatically in the receiver with their thicker and thinner extremities alternating and their analogous faces directed the same way.

-3. A machine having, in combination, means for forming tapering articles, and means for assembling such articles in a stack with their thicker and thinner extremitiesalternating and their analogous faces directed the same way.

i. A stock cutting machine having, in combination, means for'cutting successive pieces, from strips or" material which are tapering in cross-section, and means for stacking the pieces so cut with their thicker and thinner extremities alternating.

5. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, means for cutting successive pieces from strips of material which are tapering in cross'section, and means for stacking the pieces so cut with their thicker and thinner extremities alternating and their analogous faces similarly directed.

6. A machine having, in combination, instrumentalities for operating intermittently upon successive portions of a piece of ma terial; means for supporting a second piece of material at a point outside the region of operation of said instrumentalities; a feeddevice; and mechanism for actuating the feed-device intermittently between successive operations of said instrumentalities, said mechanism acting automatically to engage the feed-device with the first-mentioned piece alone during the operation thereon, and, upon the exhaustion of the first piece, to cause the feed-device to engage the second piece, and bring it into the region of operation of said instrumentalities.

7. A machine having, in combination, instrumentalities for operating intermittently upon successive portions of a piece of material; means f0? supporting a second piece of material at a point outside the region of operation of said instrumentalities; a feeddevice; and mechanism for reciprocating the feed-device intermittently, between successive operations of said instrumentalities, through a path of movement in which it may'cooperate with either the piece being operated on or the second piece, said mechanism operating automatically to engage the feed-device only with the first piece, during the later part of its operative movement, during the operation thereon, but, upon and not until the exhaustion of the first piece, to engage the feed-device with the second piece, at an earlier point in its operative movement, so as to advance the second piece into the region of operation of said instrumentalities.

8. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, cutting instrumentalities;

means for reciprocating one of said instrumentalities toward and from the other; means for supporting and guiding a strip of material in the cutting-plane of said instrumentalities; means for supporting a stack of strips with the lowermost strip substantially in said plane but beyond the region of operation of said instrumentalities; a feed dog adapted to cooperate with the lower surfaces or" said strips; and mechanism for actuating the feed-dog, said mechanism operating automatically to reciprocate the dog, parallel with the cutting plane, from a point below the stack-holding means to a point closely adjacent the cutting-instrumentalities, but to hold the dog out of operative engagement with the strips during the first part or" its advancing movement during the operation of the cuttinginstrumentalities upon one strip and until the exhaustion of said strip, and thereafter to engage the dog with the lowermost strip of the stack during the first part of its advana-ing movement and thus advance said strip from the staclnsupporting ineans to the region of operation of the cutting-instrumentalities.

9. A. machine having, in combination, instrumentalities operable intermittently upon successive portions of a strip of material; a magazine for supporting a supply of such strips in stacked relation, the strips being tapering in cross-section and lying with their thicker edges supported upon each other and their thinner edges leaning against, and independently supported by, a side-wall of the magazine, a dog movable ransversely beneath the stack and adapted to engage the lowermost strip and move it in a direction to release its thinner edge from the wall of the magazine so that the strip may fall into horizontal position;

means for coaveying the strip so released from the magazine to said instrumentalities; and mechanism, for actuating said dog, operating automatically to engage the dog with a strip only at a time determined by the exhaustion of a previous strip upon which said instrumentalities are operating.

10. A machine having, in combination, instrumentalities for operating progressively upon a piece of material; a support for a piece of material at point outside the region of operation of said instrumentalr ties; a feeler operating automatically to de' tect the exhaustion of the piece upon which said instrumentalities are operating; means, for transferring a piece, on said support, to the region of operation of said instrumentalities, including a dog reciprocated constanl'ly adjacent said piece; and means, controlled by said feel r, for holding the dog out of engagement with said piece except upon the exhaustion of the piece upon which said instrumentalities are operating.

' edges.

11 A stock-cutting machine having, in combinatlon, cooperating cutting-instrw mentalities, means for reciprocating one of said instrumentalities toward and from the other; guiding-means, located in advance of the cutting-instrumentalities, for guiding into engagement with them a strip of material; and means, actuated at each cutting operation, for moving the guiding-means out of operative position, to disengage the strip of material.

12. A machine having, in combination, a cutting-table; means for severing pieces of sheet-material from a strip on the cuttingtable; a receiver for stacked pieces; two transferring-devices movable alternately between the table and the support; means for discharging each cut piece from the table to one or the other of the transferring-devices; and means for imparting a half-rotation to one, but not the other, of the'transferring devices during movement from the table to the support, to turn alternate pieces into positions opposite the positions of the intermediate pieces, prior to the stacking of the pieces.

13. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, means for feeding strips of shoe-stock wedge-shaped in cross-section; means for severing the strips into shorter pieces; and means for stacking the, severed pieces with their thicker and thinner edges alternating.

14. A stock-cutting machine having, in

combination, means for holding strips of material, wedge-shaped in cross-section, stacked in similar positions with respect to their thicker and thinner edges; and means for withdrawing strips successively from the stack, cutting them into shorter pieces, and stacking the cut pieces in opposite positions with respect to their thicker and thinner 15. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, means for delivering successive wedge-shaped pieces of sheet-material all in the same position; a receiver for a stack of such pieces; and means for transferring the pieces to the receiver successively and turning some, at least, of the pieces, substantially in the planes of their faces, to cause the pieces, as stacked, to be in alternate positions as to their thicker and thinner edges.

16. A machine having, in combination,

means acting upon a series of uniformly tapering articles occupying similar positions with respect to their tapers for successively transferring said articles to another position and turning the alternate articles end for end in substantially their own planes during the transfer; and means for stacking the articles so transferred in face -to face relation with the thicker and thinner ends of the adjacent articles alter- Ila-tin;go

17. A stock handling machine comprising means for acting upon a series of articles v'occup ing similarpositions for successively nate pieces end for end in their own planes during the transferal. I 19. A machine having, in combination, means for holding a stackof strips of material; means adjacent said stack for operating intermittently upon successive portions of a strip; feeding means for engaging a strip in said stack and feeding itstep-bystep between the successive operations of said operating means, and means for causing said feeding means to engage and feed another strip from said stack upon the exhaustion of the strip being operated upon.

20. A machine having, in combination, means for holding a stack of strips of material; means adjacent said stack for operating intermittently upon successive portions of a strip, feeding means disposed beneath said stack and adapted to periodically reciprocate to and from said operating means; and means for causing said feeding means to engage and feed the lowermost strip in said stack to said operating means in a series of steps and to similarly act upon each succeeding stripupon the exhaustion of the immediately preceding strip.

21. A machine having, in combination, means for holding a stack of strips of material; means adjacent said stack for operating intermittently upon successive portions of a strip, feeding means disposed beneath said stack and adapted to periodically reciprocate to andfrom said operating means; means for causing said reciprocating feeding means to engage and feed the lowermost strip in said stack to said operating means at each working stroke thereof; and means dependent upon the exhaustion of said first strip for causing said feeding means to act similarly upon each succeeding strip in the stack. v

22. A machine having, in combination, means for holding a stack of strips of material; means adjacent said stack for operating intermittently upon successive portions of a strip, feeding means disposed beneath said stack and adapted to periodically reciprocate to and from said operating means; 'means for causing said reciprocating feeding means to engage the lowermost strip in the stack at the extreme of its return stroke and to feed it towardthe operating means, and to subsequently engage and feed said strip at an intermediate point in each of its working strokes whereby the strip is fed stepbystep to said operating means.

23. A machine having, in combination, means for supporting a piece of material; a reciprocating feed device, and automatic means for causing said feed dev'ce to engage said piece of material at different points in its working strokes and to feed said strip at each stroke.

21-. A machine having, in combination, means for supporting a piece of material; a reciprocating feed device comprising a feed-dog for engaging the surface and feeding said piece; and automatically adjustable means cooperating with said feed-dog for determining the point in the working stroke thereof at which the feed-dog be comes operative.

25. A machine having, in combination, means for supporting a piece of material; a reciprocating feed device having a normal length of stroke; yielding means for permitting shorter strokes; and means for de tel-mining the portion of each stroke during which said feed device is operative to engage and feed said piece of material.

26. A machine having, in combination, means for operating upon a piece of stock; means for longitudinally feeding the stock to said operating means; means for detecting the exhaustion of the stock being fed; means for holding a supply of stock; means for transversely feeding a piece of stock from said supply into the path of movement of said longitudinal feeding means; and means controlled by said detecting means for rendering said transverse feeding means operative only when the longitudinally fed piece is exhausted.

27. A machine having, in combination, means for operating upon a strip of stock; means for holding a supply of such strips; longitudinal feeding means located beneath said supply and constantly reciprocating to and from said operating means; constantly reciprocating transverse feeding means located beneath said supply; and automatic means for causin said constantl' reci 310-" eating transverse and longitudinal feeding means to become operative to first transfer the lowermost strip of the supply into the path of movement of said longitudinal feed ing means and then cause said last means to engage and feed said strip toward said operating means.

28. A machine having, in combination, means for holding a piece of material; means for operating upon said piece of material; means for detecting the presence of the piece being operated upon; feeding means constantly reciprocating to and from said holding means and said operating means and tending to engage and feed said piece of material therein to said operating means; and means controlled by said detecting means for holding the feeding means out of engagement with said piece in said holding means so 1011" as there is a piece being operated upon.

29. A stockcutting machine having, in combination, a feed-table for supporting a piece of stock as it is fed; cutting means for operating upon the stock; supplemental means disposed between said feed-table and said cutting means for supporting the stock; means for removing said supplemental supporting means at each operation of said cutting means to permit the discharge of any piece of stock supported entirely thereby, and means for positively insuring the discharge of such piece of stock.

30. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, a feed-table for supporting a piece of stock as it is fed; cutting means for operating upon the stock; supplemental means disposed between said feed-table and said cutting means for supporting the stock; means disposed between said feed-table and said cutting means for detecting the presence of a piece of stock by engagement with its under side; means for removing said supplemental supporting means at each operation of said cutting means to permit the discharge of any piece of stock which is too short to be engaged and supported by said detecting means.

31. A machine having, in combination, means for cutting successive pieces from a sheet of sheet material; rotatable means upon which the cut pieces are placed for transferal to a receiving position, said means being adapted to rotate only the alternate pieces through a half. turn in their own planes; and means for stacking the pieces so transi'i'erred.

32. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, means for successively cutting pieces from a piece of sheet material, means for transferring the cut pieces in substan tially their own planes to another position; and means for turning the successive pieces into a plane normal to their initial plane and stacking the pieces so turned.

33. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, means for successively cutting pieces from a piece of sheet material; a rotatable carrier for transferring the out pieces in substantially their own planes to another position; and yieldable means for successively moving the cut pieces upon said carrier.

34. A machine having, in combination, means for feeding a succession of wedge lifts with their thick ends in similar positions, and means for stacking said lifts in 'face-to-face relation with their thick and thin ends alternating and their analogous faces directed the same Way.

35. A machine having, in combination, means for feeding a succession of wedge lifts with their thick ends in similar positions, means for reversing the position of every alternate lift with respect to its taper, and means for stacking said lifts with their thick and thin ends alternating and their analogous faces directed the same way.

36. A machine having, in combination, means for cutting lifts from a transversely tapering strip of sheet material, and means for progressively stacking said lifts as they are cut in face-to-face relation with their thick and thin ends alternating.

37. A machine having, in combination,

means for intermittently and longitudinally advancing a transversely tapering strip of sheet material, means for successively cutting Wedge lifts therefrom, and means for progressively manipulating said lifts to bring them into stacked relation with their thick and thin ends alternating.

38. A machine having, in combination, means for cutting lifts from a transversely tapering strip of sheet material, and means for progressively stacking said lifts as they are cut in face-to-face relation with their thick and thin ends alternating, and their analogous faces directed the same way.

39. A machine having, in combination, means for feeding a succession of wedgelifts with their thick ends in similar positions, means for successively transferrin said wedge-lifts to another position and turning the alternate lifts end for end in substantially their own planes during the transfer-a1, and means for stacking the transferred lifts with their thick and thin ends alternating.

40. A machine having, in combination, means for supporting a piece of material, means having a predetermined normal feeding movement for advancing the piece of material by successive steps, and automatic means for varying the point in the feeding movement of said advancing means at which said means becomes operative.

41. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, means for holding a stack of transversely tapering strips of sheet material, means operating successively upon the strips for withdrawing them from the stack and feeding them intermittently to an oper ating position, means for cutting successive pieces from the ends thereof, and means for stacking the cut pieces progressively with their thick and thin ends alternatin ERASTUS E. WINKL Y. 

